Team USA Hockey Coach John Tortorella Threatens To Bench Any Player Who Sits During The National Anthem

From Colin Kaepernick to Megan Rapinoe, protesting the American flag seems to be the hot new craze in sports. But that won’t be happening at the World Cup of Hockey. That’s because Team USA coach John Tortorella is going to bench any social justice warrior hockey player that even thinks about it.

ESPN’s Linda Cohn reports: When I asked Team USA coach John Tortorella about Kaepernick protest he told me ‘If any of my players sit on the bench for the national anthem, they will sit there the rest of the game.’

This fucking guy.

Torts is a real “no-bullshit” type of coach, and it’s absolutely refreshing. We have him to thank for quite possibly the greatest start to a hockey game ever — a full line brawl off the faceoff. No surprise, but he also hails from Boston.

Something tells me Torts won’t have to put his plan in motion. Hockey players aren’t concerned with petty microaggressions. They eat, drink, sleep, breathe hockey. They’re more worried about achieving the always elusive Gordie Howe hat trick (goal, assist, fight in the same game) than they are about protesting.

I still haven’t figured out what everyone’s yelling about in regards to this Kaepernick situation. He lives in America, and he has every right to kneel during the national anthem if he wants to. He also has the right to focus more on being a social justice warrior than he does being a starting quarterback. Kaepernick will have plenty of time to kneel and sit on Sundays after the pride of Mizzou, Blaine Gabbert, won the starting job this offseason.

Torts is a man of conviction – doesn’t give a fuck what anyone thinks. I’ve always been a fan.

Fuck anyone that doesn’t stand for the flag. SJWs with their micro aggressions and safe spaces and LBGTYUPTDQR2D2 pride and white privilege protests are ruining America. Anyone, like Torts, that stands up and says fuck you to the PC-Police-state is A-Okay in my book.

Serious question – For people who want “anthem sitters” to be punished by their teams, what is their position on Jehova’s Witnesses? JW’s consider national anthems to be a form of nationalist prayer which is blasphemous, and therefore they refuse to participate in the anthem or flag ceremonies on religious grounds. A lot of the same people criticising those who don’t stand for the anthem are big supporters of those “religious freedom” bills that protect people who refuse to participate in workplace activities that violate their religious beliefs.